In 1998 Speech, Obama Calls for Reorganizing Government To Redistribute Wealth

OBAMA, 1998, ESPOUSES 'REDISTRIBUTION' (Breitbart)

In a newly-discovered video, Barack Obama, at a 1998 conference at Loyola University in Chicago, said he believed in "redistribution" to "make sure that everybody's got a shot."

Obama said the "notion government action can be effective" needed to be resuscitated and conceded that the failures of the Chicago Housing Authority and the Chicago public school system made people less inclined to have faith in government.

"The trick... is figuring out how do we structure government systems that pool resources and, hence, facilitate some redistribution, because I actually believe in redistribution, at least at a certain level, to make sure that everybody's got a shot," Obama said.

Obama's 1998 comments about the failures of Chicago's government institutions were prescient, because his administration's policies have made Americans trust government even less. And the ongoing Chicago teacher's union strike has symbolized government workers run amok.

And the president's views on "redistribution" have likely not evolved. During the 2008 campaign, Obama infamously told Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher that he wanted to "spread the wealth around." Obama has also actively and openly campaigned on his belief that wealthier Americans should pay their "fair share" in more taxes.